Russia’s Biggest Tech Company Wants To Cut Ties With The Country: Here’s Why

With the ongoing war with Ukraine, Russia’s biggest tech company wants to move out of the country. Russia has recently targeted basic infrastructures in Ukraine through a wave of air strikes, causing severe damage in the country. 

Often referred to as “Russia’s Google,” Yandex is Russia’s most prominent internet company, widely popular for its search browser and ride-hailing apps. 

Its Dutch-based parent company, Yandex N.V., now wants out of Russia because of the potential negative impact of the Ukrainian invasion, reports the New York Times. 

The company believes the Ukraine war could negatively impact its business. 

This may blow President Vladimir Putin, as the country has been struggling to build up Russian-based technology. 

On Friday, the company said its board had “commenced a strategic process to review options to restructure the group’s ownership and governance in light of the current geopolitical environment.”

The company said in a statement that these options included developing some of its international divisions “independently from Russia” and divesting “ownership and control of all other businesses in the Yandex Group.”

Also Read: Putin ‘Fighting For His Life’ Amid Setbacks, Says Zelenskyy Aide: ‘No Forgiveness In Russia For Tsars Who Lose Wars’

According to the Times, a Russian media group had earlier reported that Yandex N.V. would move its new businesses and technologies, including self-driving cars, machine learning, and cloud-computing services, outside Russia. 

The NYT reported that moving out of Russia may be challenging, as the company would need the Kremlin’s approval to transfer Russian-registered tech licenses outside the country. 

Also, Yandex’s shareholders would have to approve the broader restructuring plan.

Following Russia’s Ukraine invasion, thousands of Yandex employees have left Russia. Yandex had more than 18,000 workers in Russia, and the company was worth more than $31 billion. 

The price of the company’s New York-listed shares lost more than $20 billion in value almost immediately after the war, before Nasdaq suspended trading in its shares. 

Photo: Web Summit on flickr